Fans have been clamoring for a female Link in the Zelda franchise for ages, even sparking fevered speculation on more than one occasion. After all, Link’s design has always been a bit androgynous and it’s not as if he’s ever had much to say. Why couldn’t they redo the design to make it a bit more feminine?

Well, it seems that Nintendo has been listening. During yesterday’s Nintendo Direct presentation, the company introduced a new original character named Linkle, a girl in a green tunic who lives in a small village and dual-wields crossbows who will be a playable character in the upcoming Hyrule Warriors Legends for the 3DS. Linkle first turned up as concept art in a Hyrule Warriors art book more than a year ago, but Hyrule Warriors Legends marks her first official in-game appearance.

Of course, the characters in Hyrule Warriors are more or less interchangeable so Nintendo probably views Legends as a low-risk way to introduce Linkle to the public. It probably won’t (and shouldn’t) placate fans that want to see a full Zelda game featuring Linkle. At the same time, it’s nice to be able to type ‘Linkle’ instead of ‘female Link’ while talking about that hypothetical future game. Nintendo has finally put a name to a face and demonstrated that yes, the Zelda formula really doesn’t change much with Linkle on the cover.

Other new characters coming to Hyrule Warriors Legends include Toon Link, Tetra, and the King of Hyrule, but none of them can hold a crossbow next to Linkle. She looks awesome, and the character is sure to be popular with Zelda fans new and old alike when Hyrule Warriors Legends debuts for the 3DS on March 25, 2016.